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Tehachapi Slender Salamander Petition

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Tehachapi Slender Salamander Petition BEFORE THE SECRETARY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Petition to List the Tehachapi Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps stebbinsi) as Threatened or Endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act Petitioner: Jeremy Nichols Date: February 2006 I. Introduction Pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, 16 USC § 1531 et seq. and regulations promulgated thereunder, the Administrative Procedures Act, 5 USC § 553(e), and the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, Jeremy Nichols hereby petitions for a rule to list the Tehachapi slender salamander (Batrachoseps stebbinsi) as Threatened or Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The best available scientific information shows the Tehachapi slender salamander, which is extremely narrowly distributed, has declined due to habitat loss and degradation and faces ongoing threats to its continued existence. The species is globally imperiled and is already listed as Threatened by the state of California. Scientists have recommended the species receive federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. For the reasons set forth below, the Tehachapi slender salamander must be listed as Threatened or Endangered as expeditiously as possible. Petitioner understands this petition action sets in motion a specific process placing definite response requirements on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) and specific time constraints upon those responses. See, 16 USC § 1533(b). Specifically, the USFWS must determine whether or not this petition presents substantial scientific information indicating the petitioned action may be warranted within 90 days of its receipt II. Petitioner Jeremy Nichols is a Denver, Colorado resident who values and enjoys biological diversity because of its educational importance to his three year old son, because of the joy of viewing wildlife, fish, and plants in their native habitats, and because of the importance of biological diversity to maintaining healthy ecosystems. III. The Tehachapi Slender Salamander The Tehachapi slender salamander is a member of the genus Batrachoseps, or the slender salamanders, a genus of salamander that exists in western North America, primarily in the arid and semi-arid environments of California (Lannoo 2005). The genus Batrachoseps is a part of the family Plethodontidae. The Tehachapi slender salamander was discovered in 1968 and described based on specimens within Caliente Canyon at the junction of the Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains in southern California (Brame and Murray 1968). Populations of Tehachapi slender salamander in the northern slopes of the Tehachapi Mountains are actually a genetically distinct and may be more appropriately classified a distinct species (Jockusch and Wake 2002, Hanson and Wake 2005). Tehachapi slender salamanders are known from two small areas in south-central California, both in Kern County (Hanson and Wake 2005). See, Figure 1. Within Caliente Canyon, which is the site of the type locality, salamanders have been recorded from seven locations (Brame and Murray 1968, Hanson and Wake 2005). Populations in the northern Tehachapi Mountains, which may be a different species (Jockusch and Wake 2002), inhabit several isolated canyons ranging from Tejon Canyon southwest to Fort Tejon (Hanson and Wake 2005). A population was also known from the north slope of Black Mountain in the vicinity of Tehachapi Pass, but salamanders have not been found in the area since 1957 (Hanson and Wake 2005). Petition to list the Tehachapi Slender Salamander as Threatened or Endangered 2 Figure 1. Distribution of the Tehachapi slender salamander. The species is known only from only two areas in Kern County, California (Blackburn et al. 2001). The species is extremely narrowly distributed and is confined to seasonally-shaded, north- facing slopes of canyons that are located in arid to semi-arid terrain. Populations are described by Hansen and Wake (2005) as “small and localized” (p. 693). The species has already declined, becoming extirpated from the Tehachapi Pass area, likely as a result of highway construction (Brame and Murray 1968, Hansen and Wake 2005). The seven known localities of the salamander within Caliente Canyon have all been adversely affected by road construction, mining, domestic livestock grazing, and flood control projects (Hansen and Stafford 1994, Jennings 1996, Hansen and Wake 2005). Much of the salamander’s habitat in Caliente Canyon occurs on lands administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), which has failed to prevent the species from being adversely affected (Hansen and Wake 2005). Populations in the Tehachapi Mountains are primarily found on private lands, including the Tejon Ranch, which is succumbing to human development (Hansen and Wake 2005). Indeed, rapid population growth within the region is reported to be a significant threat. Hansen and Wake (2005) state: Plans exist for the development of several new communities on the vast Tejon Ranch property. Owing to the small size and localized nature of Tehachapi slender salamander populations, the Tejon Ranch sites appear especially vulnerable to habitat disturbance. (p. 693) Petition to list the Tehachapi Slender Salamander as Threatened or Endangered 3 In the Tejon Pass area, the construction of a major freeway is reported to have negatively affected salamander populations (Hansen and Wake 2005). Road building has also negatively affected the species in the Tehachapi Pass region (Brame and Murray 1968). The species has a global heritage ranking of G2, meaning it is imperiled throughout its entire range (NatureServe 2005). The USFWS (1996) describes heritage rankings as “One of the most comprehensive information sources on rare or imperiled species” (p. 64482) and utilizes to assess the conservation status of species. The USFWS (1996) has stated: [T]he Service regards the species ranked G1, G2, or G3, and subspecies ranked T1, T2, or T3, in the TNC [heritage] database as a reasonable subset of species and subspecies from which to identify those that may be candidates for listing under the [Endangered Species] Act. (p. 64483) The salamander is designated as Threatened by the state of California (California Department of Fish and Game 2000). Hansen and Wake (2005) state: Populations of this narrowly distributed species occur on both private and public lands (the latter including portions of the Caliente Canyon range segment and administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management) and face variety of threats as noted above. Although listed as Threatened by the State of California, Tehachapi slender salamanders probably warrant some measure of federal protection, given the near-term development pressures in the Tehachapi Mountains. (p. 695) A. Life History The Tehachapi slender salamander is a terrestrial breeder. It is believed movements during the breeding season do not occur for the species given that populations are associated with small, discrete patches of suitable habitat. Periods of surface activity vary, depending on precipitation. Gravid females have been reported from February and April at Fort Tejon. It is likely that eggs are deposited deep within rock talus and litter matrix, which characterizes the salamander’s habitat (Hansen and Wake 2005). Juvenile habitat is reported to be unknown at this time as juveniles are rarely found (Hansen and Wake 2005). Adult habitat is described by Hansen and Wake (2005): Caliente Canyon, lying at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada, is situated in a moderately arid region. Salamanders are restricted to lower margins of north-facing slopes bordering Caliente Creek , as well as a few side canyons, and are associated with granitic or limestone talus and scattered rocks. Vegetation here consists of foothill pine, interior live oak, canyon oak, blue oak, Fremont cottonwood, sycamore, and California buckeye (Brame and Murray, 1968). AT more exposed locations, California juniper, yucca, brush lupine, and buckwheats grow. Substrates range from sandy-gravelly loam to decomposed granite. In the canyons of the Tehachapi Mountains, Tehachapi slender salamander populations are likewise restricted to north-facing slopes, although they occur at higher elevations. Unlike the Caliente Canyon populations, where salamanders are nearly always associated with Petition to list the Tehachapi Slender Salamander as Threatened or Endangered 4 rocks, the Tehachapi Mountains salamanders occur in areas of downed wood or talus. (p. 694) Tehachapi slender salamanders are considered habitat specialists (Hansen and Wake 2005). The salamander is vulnerable to desiccation, yet exists in an area where precipitation is unpredictable. Surface activity is tied to the onset of late fall rains, which usually last one to three months. The species may remain active as late as April, with peak surface activity occurring in February and March. During periods of freezing temperature and summer heat, the salamander remains under the surface (Hansen and Wake 2005). The Tehachapi slender salamander is considered a “relatively large species of Batrachoseps” (Hansen and Wake 2005, p. 694). The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, with females averaging 57.0 mm snout to vent length and males averaging 54.0 mm. Minimum age and size at sexual maturity are unknown (Hansen and Wake 2005). The species co-occurs with yellow-blotched ensatinas (Ensatina eschscholtzii croceater) in the Caliente Canyon area and Tehachapi Mountains (Hansen and Wake 2005). In the Tehachapi Mountains, the species is sympatric with black-bellied
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